News Round UP (March 31, 2006)

A new law in Congress against Damascus
From Mideastwire.com

Bahia Mardini reported in Elaph, a pan-Arab website, on March 30 that: “The Syrian opposition denied, yesterday, media reports and interpretations concerning the statements made by Assistant Secretary of State David Welch in which he confirmed that no communication has been made between the American Administration and the former Syrian vice-President, Abed al-Halim Khaddam, but that Khaddam may have something to say that [the US] wants to hear. The [Syrian] Opposition said that America’s goal on this subject is not to dialogue with Khaddam but ‘to merely listen to the information he has against the Syrian regime’. Khaddam also revealed a new law that the Congress is studying called ‘Syria’s freedom’.

Mardini continued: “On this front, the Syrian Reform party, which has its headquarters in the United States of America, clarified in a statement that Elaph received a copy of that the information from similar parties confirmed that Washington has not dialogued with Khaddam for any other reason and it is not prepared to do so. The statement said that some media attempted to interpret Welch’s statements and hint at things that it did not contain. The statement considered that the main reason behind the American policies is that George Bush had said recently that America’s mistakes-that facilitated dictators in the Middle East-will not be repeated and any political support to Khaddam means going back on these apologies to the Syrian people.”

“The Reform party of Syria said that the statements made by the American Foreign [Affairs Deputy] for Middle Eastern affairs can be understood as indicating that the American [State Department] is looking for any new proof or documents against the Syrian regime and that it may find some when it listens to Khaddam. The Party confirmed that America regards Khaddam as an information center that it can utilize to reach real democracy in Syria. Fareed al-Ghadri, head of Reform Party in Syria said that Welch’s statements meant that [America] is aiming at finding additional information against the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad following Assad’s last statement to the press that said that [his] internal and external policies will not be changed, which did not please the international community or the American administration. Al-Ghadri hinted at an escalation by Washington against Damascus that will be crystallized with a law called ‘Syria’s freedom’ that the American Congress is! studying now…” - Elaph, United Kingdom

Jumblatt blasts Syria and its 'tool' Nasrallah
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Saturday, April 01, 2006

BEIRUT: The head of the Democratic Gathering, MP Walid Jumblatt, said Friday the "Syrians entered the country with the blood of [Druze leader] Kamal Jumblatt, and left the country with the blood of [former Prime Minister] Rafik Hariri." In an interview with LBC late Thursday, Jumblatt strongly attacked the Syrian regime and its allies in Lebanon and described Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah as a "tool in the hands of the Syrian regime."

Jumblatt also spoke of the presidency and said that the new president should be of the March 14 camp.

He also then referred to MP Michel Aoun as a serious candidate and "one of March 14's leading members."

Jumblatt added that there was a "major division in the country over the relations with Syria and the resistance's arms."

He also said that Syrian President Bashar Assad had "a storehouse of terrorists," asking about the reason why "Arab countries are afraid of him and of his tiny group that monopolizes the country."

Jumblatt added: "Maybe the Arabs don't want to change the Syrian regime; they have their considerations and they respect laws and customs; they don't like democracy a lot and they are unable to change Assad's behavior."

Jumblatt continued: "[U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza] Rice talked about changing the behavior and I said during my visit to the U.S. that it is impossible to change the actions of a regime that is used to assassinations and terrorism."

"Consequently, we are in trouble; the March 14 forces and all the Lebanese should know that reinforcing the country against this regime takes a lot of time," he said.
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Jumblatt also directly accused a former official in the Syrian intelligence, Ibrahim Howaiji, of killing his father, Kamal Jumblatt.

"Those who perpetrated the crime were all Syrians; there weren't any Lebanese accomplices," he said.

As for his former close relations with the Syrian regime and his decision to turn against it, Jumblatt said: "When you are attached to this regime in the name of the national and the Palestinian cause, you become brainwashed."

He added that he made the decision to stand up against the Syrian regime following the assassination attempt that targeted Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamade.

He added that it is "impossible to acquit Syria and the Lebanese security regime from the assassination of Hariri."

Asked about claims of a secret meeting between him and French President Jacques Chirac, Jumblatt said: "I met with Chirac and we agreed not to inform the media about the meeting. We have talked about the situation in Lebanon." He refused to reveal more details.

According to the Druze leader, the influence of Syria is still present in Lebanon due to Hizbullah's support.

Jumblatt said that Nasrallah was a "tool in the hands of the Syrian regime to exert control over Lebanon."

Jumblatt also noted that the "integration of the resistance in the Lebanese Army would lead to the balance of powers." - The Daily Star

Khartoum Conference: Arab leaders expressed their support for Syria’s leadership and rejected US pressure and the threat of sanctions on Damascus at the Arab League summit here yesterday.

Lebanese leaders traded accusations and insults at the Arab summit meeting in Khartoum on Tuesday, and then two days later during a televised cabinet session. At Khartoum PM Siniora provoked criticism from Lahoud and later Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri when Siniora attempt to replace the clause voicing support to the resistance with one that supported "Lebanon's right to liberate its land" as inappropriate. Berri accused Siniora of contradicting the Ministerial statement agreed on by the government. "You are currently ruling due to the confidence you received in parliament over the ministerial statement, and neither you nor the council of ministers have the right to change it," he said.

The ministerial statement states that "the government considers the Lebanese resistance a genuine and natural expression of the Lebanese people's national right to liberate their territories in the face of Israeli aggressions."

"I thought that enthusiasm for the resistance was rooted here in Lebanon more than in other Arab countries, but you proved the opposite at the Arab summit in Khartoum, Mr. Premier, and what you did was close to a sin and I thank you for those words," Berri said and abruptly ended the parliamentary session.

Later, Lahoud went on the offensive against Hamade and Fatfat. Hariri Says Street Protests are Still a Possibility if Dialogue Fails to Remove Lahoud and criticizes Lahoud's 'Cheap Attempt' to discredit Saniora at the summit

The Jerusalem Post asks what happened to the Cedar Revolution? The article concludes:

Nadim Shehadi, from Chatham House, says no one has the stomach for more fighting, which is what would occur if the Lebanese army tried to forcibly shut down Hizbullah or go into the refugee camps.

"In a nutshell, national reconciliation offers two choices: internal confrontation or paralysis," he says. "I think the Lebanese will choose paralysis."

Whatever the hopes of the Cedar Revolutionaries and the intentions of the politicians, Syria and Iran still hold the keys to Lebanon's domestic tranquility. And just as Syria has been ducking the UN investigation into the Hariri murder, it - along with Iran - will continue to make trouble with Hizbullah and the Palestinian rejectionists.

"Nothing good will come of the national reconciliation meetings," says Zisser. "The Lebanese may get rid of Lahoud, but he only has a year left to his term anyway."

President Lahoud blew his top yesterday, claiming he had been insulted by fellow government members who were giving him the cold shoulder.

U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday again accused Syria of interfering in Lebanon's affairs and allowing insurgents to enter Iraq which shares common border with Syria.

"Our message to (Syrian President) Bashar Assad is that we expect -- if they want to be a welcomed country into the world, that they have got to free Lebanon, shut down cross-border infiltration, and stop allowing Hezbollah, PIJ (Palestine Islamic Jihad) and other terrorist groups to meet inside the country," Bush told the Freedom House, an independent pro-democracy group.

Can Turkey bridge the gap between Islam and the West?
By Yigal Schleifer, Christian Science Monitor, March 29, 2006

After decades of keeping the Arab and Muslim countries of the Middle East at arm's length, Turkey is trying to strengthen relations with its neighbors while at the same time recasting itself as a mediator in the region.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a speech at the opening of the Arab League summit in Khartoum, Sudan, where Turkey for the first time was given the status of "permanent guest" by the organization.The prime minister's appearance at the summit - the first time a Turkish leader has done so - is the latest in a string of eyebrow-raising foreign policy moves: In February, a top Hamas official visited the capital, Ankara; soon after, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafaari made a bridge-building trip; and the Turkish government recently announced that it was planning to host firebrand Shiite Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr for an official visit - since put on hold. [complete article]

Washington endorses the unilateral solution

Sahar Baasiri, of the independent, anti-Syrian An Nahar, commented in her column March 31 on the declaration by the U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, that her country is open to Ehud Olmert’s plan to mark Israel’s final borders by 2010. She noted that Rice’s announcement came one day after the conclusion of the Arab summit at Khartoum, which specifically declared the Arab rejection of unilateral Israeli solutions. “In simple terms, this means that Washington no longer insists on a negotiated settlement, and that it now publicly endorses a unilateral Israeli solution.” The writer argued that this is a departure from the declared American policy that supported the peace process.

She argued that Rice justifies such change by two reasons. The first is the success of the unilateral Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, which in the end brought about a Palestinian-Israeli cooperation. The second reason is the fact that Hamas now controls the Palestinian government. The U.S. considers such government as illegitimate, and it has agreed with Israel to sever all contacts with it.